Mumbai: Bajaj Auto on Tuesday said workers at its Chakan plant "stopped coming" to work, apparently to protest the management's refusal to allot them shares at discounted price, thereby affecting the production.

However, the workers union cited many other reasons for their strike such as a 25 percent wage hike, making contract workers permanent employees apart from taking back the suspended and those transferred workers back to the Chakan plant.

"Two of our members have been suspended for 8-10 days while three have been transferred to the Aurangabad plant. We also want a steep salary hike from current Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. We also want the company to issue us 500 shares each," union leaders told.

The company said the workers had earlier given a notice for a stoppage of work at the plant from the morning shift of June 28, 2013.

"The workmen have, however, stopped coming to the Chakan plant from today itself, without assigning any reason for this stoppage," BAL said in a filing to the BSE. The Chakan plant has a capacity of 2,500 units of Pulsars, KTM models and the Discover

The plant employs 925 permanent workers and 1,000 temporary, contract and trainees. These 1,000 workers are seeking to be made permanent.

The company said it had earlier received a notice from the workmen's union of its Chakan plant -- Vishwa Kalyan Kamgar Sanghatana stating that they propose to call for a stoppage of work by all the workmen employed in Chakan plant from the morning shift of June 28, 2013.

The reason for the strike was "that management had refused to concede their demand that all the workmen working in Bajaj Auto should each be given an option to subscribe to 500 equity shares of the company at a discounted price of Re 1 per share", it added.

As on March 31, 2013 the Chakan plant of the company has an annual capacity of produce 1.2 million units of motorcycles, which include the Pulsar, the Avenger, the Ninja and KTM brands.